How long is never?
by nightfuryperson
Summary: Short fic set after "The Croaking". Did Raph really mean never again? Mikey and Raph centered. Not a slash, but hey, I don't control what you see. Please R&R! :p


**Hey guys! So this fic has been plaguing my mind since Friday, and I was finally able to get it out in my free block. Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT (Which is probably a good thing because me owning anything is pretty much a disaster.)**

Raph grunted as he leaned against the railing of the porch. The house had been fairly banged up in a lot of places, but surprisingly enough the porch stayed intact. Raph closed his eyes, feeling the cold evening breeze against his skin and listening to the soft creaking of the porch swing next to him. He was still sore from being ganged up on by the frogs, but he'd live. That wasn't what was bothering him though. April's words still rang in his head. _'You guys never appreciate him, especially_ you _Raph!'_ It was really annoying when Mikey messed stuff up like what he did to the living room, but that was who he was. Raph stiffened when he remembered how harsh he had been as he walked out the door. Mikey had looked sad enough when he was being yelled at about trashing the place, but then of course Raph had to throw his own two cents in and say that he was no ninja, and just a screw up. Raph had tried to hide it with annoyance at the time, but he had been really worried when they came home to find that Mikey wasn't there. _'If only I didn't have such a hot temper, if only I'd been nicer to him; if onl-'_

"Hey Raph!"

"GAH!" Raph jumped out of his melancholy thoughts with a yelp when his youngest brother materialized beside him. He glared at Mikey's now snickering face as he got his erratic heartbeat under control. "We have _got_ to get you a bell or something." Mikey's eyes lit up, completely missing his brother's true meaning. "Oooh, really? Dude, that would be totally AWESOME! I-" Raph rolled his eyes and blocked out the other's mindless chatter. Leave it to Mikey to always find something cool in every situation. But of course, the said discovery would always be followed by an hour long monologue about it to anyone who was unlucky enough to be nearby at the time. Seriously, how had those frogs been able to put up with him? Those frogs…who took him in and were ready to protect him even when his own _family_ was being a jerk to him. "-aph! RAPHIE BOY WAKE UP!"

"Huh?"

"I lost ya for a minute dude. Or…maybe an hour. I dunno, I've been talking for a while and I just realized that because my mouth is really starting to hurt but I guess that I'm used to that by now, but any way, what are you thinking about?" Raph took a moment to process everything the younger terrapin had just said, before replying "I was just thinking about the frogs from earlier."

"Oh yeah, dude, you should have been there when they weren't trying to kill us! It was awesome living with them. But it was even cooler when you guys came and went all ninja on them!" Raph snorted and looked out into the woods. After a few moments, he heard his brother again. "Hey Raph?"

"Yeah?"

"How long is never?" Raph blinked in surprise, then glanced at his brother, who was now giving him his trademark big puppy dog eyes. He felt his cheeks heat up when he figured out what Mikey was talking about, and after a moment or so he turned to face the other, arms open ever so slightly. "Okay, just one more time, but if you t-OOOF!" He grunted as his baby brother full on tackled him into the porch swing, which creaked in alarm as the two mutants collided with it. Raph sat there in shock for a few moments, before hesitantly reaching down to pat the head of the turtle that was now attached to his waist. "Love ya Raphie." He heard Mikey mutter into his plastron, and he froze. After about a minute or so, he found his voice again. "Y-yeah, whatever. C'mon, we should get inside." When he got no response, he studied his brother closer, grimacing a bit when he saw that he was asleep. _'well, it couldn't hurt to stay out here a little longer.' _He glanced around, making sure that no one was watching them, and before he could lose his courage, he bent down and kissed his little brother on the forehead. "Love 'ya too, Mike."

**And that's it! Thank you so much to everyone who read "In this dimension or the next". I'm really proud of that one. Please review, no flames. :P**


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